Sustainable manufacturing of composite materials

复合材料的可持续制造

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-05788
• 负责人: Hubert, Pascal
• 金额: $ 4.01万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=710049
• 关键词: Sustainable; manufacturing; composite; materials

Since their introduction in the 1960's, advanced carbon fibre composites have been used to develop application-specific structures featuring as much as a 30% reduction in weight compared to their metallic predecessors. The potential benefit to the aerospace industry is clear, as a reduction of 20% of an aircraft mass yields significant fuel cost savings and reduces CO2 emissions on a scale equivalent to removing a thousand cars from circulation. Composites have also changed how aircrafts are built. Large structural elements are assembled layer by layer with automated fibre placement machines and then cured in large pressurized autoclaves. Final nondestructive inspection of the parts ensure that they are free of defects and ready for the next step of the assembly process. While many progresses have been made in the last twenty years, the manufacturing process of composite structures is far from perfect. Today, about 66% of the raw material is wasted during the material deposition phase from prepreg cutting or prepreg rolls that have exceeded their shelf life. More cured composite waste is generated during the final trimming of the part. Furthermore, if excessive manufacturing defects are detected in the final component, rejection of the part can significantly increase the overall manufacturing scrap rate. Composite manufacturing waste and products at the end of their useful life are mostly landfilled, which is detrimental for the environment. The objective of this work is to develop new processes, material systems and design tools in order to reduce manufacturing costs and improve the environmental impact of composite materials manufacturing. We propose the use of process modelling tools to reduce risks during the design phase and the amount of trial-and-error that often generates very high volumes of scraps. We will develop an automated material inspection method in order to reduce material process variability that can cause defects in the final part. We will implement new heated tooling concepts in which the heat from the tool is transferred directly to the part to realize additional energy savings. Finally, we will transform prepreg wastes from ply-cutter offcuts or expired rolls into a value added product. The results of this work will provide Canadian SMEs with cost-effective modifications to their production lines in order to cope with new environmental regulations and to augment their market share.

自1960年代引入以来，高级碳纤维复合材料已被用来开发特定于应用的结构，与金属的前辈相比，重量减轻了30％。航空航天行业的潜在好处是明显的，因为减少了20％的飞机质量可节省大量燃料成本，并减少了二氧化碳排放量，相当于从循环中删除一千辆汽车。复合材料也改变了飞机的制造方式。大型结构元素用自动纤维放置机逐层组装，然后在大型加压高压杆中固化。最终对零件的无损检查确保它们没有缺陷，并准备好进行组装过程的下一步。尽管在过去的二十年中取得了许多进展，但复合结构的制造过程远非完美。如今，在材料沉积阶段浪费了约66％的原材料，从预处理或已超过其保质期的预处卷中浪费了。在零件的最终修剪期间产生更多的固化复合废物。此外，如果在最终组件中检测到过多的制造缺陷，则对零件的拒绝可以显着提高整体制造废料率。在其使用寿命结束时，复合制造废物和产品大部分都是垃圾填充，这对环境有害。这项工作的目的是开发新的过程，材料系统和设计工具，以降低制造成本并改善复合材料制造的环境影响。我们建议使用过程建模工具在设计阶段降低风险，以及通常会产生大量废料的反复试验量。我们将开发一种自动材料检查方法，以减少可能导致最后一部分缺陷的材料过程变异性。我们将实施新的加热工具概念，其中该工具的热量直接传输到零件以实现额外的节能。最后，我们将将预处理的垃圾从cutter倒角或过期的卷中转换为增值产品。 这项工作的结果将为加拿大中小型企业对其生产线进行具有成本效益的修改，以应对新的环境法规并增加其市场份额。